Fuel cost calculator. Know the trip before you drive it.
Trip details
| Vehicle | Fuel needed | Total cost | Per person | Per km | Per mile |
|---|
Calculated locally, your trip details never leave your browser.
How the math works
Your distance is converted to kilometres (doubled for a round trip), your efficiency is normalised to litres per 100 km, 1 US gallon is 3.785 L, 1 UK gallon is 4.546 L, and MPG is inverted accordingly, and the fuel price is normalised to a per-litre rate. Fuel needed × price gives the total, which is then split per person and per km/mile. Everything runs in your browser, free forever. Planning something bigger? Digital Heroes can help.
How to use the Fuel Cost Calculator
This calculator works out what a drive will cost in fuel. It converts your distance, fuel efficiency and fuel price to kilometers and liters, multiplies fuel needed by the price, then splits the total per person, per km and per mile. Use it to price a road trip, share costs fairly with passengers, or see which of two cars is cheaper for the same journey.
Step by step
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Choose a currency
Pick a symbol from Currency, such as $, €, £ or ₹, or None. It only changes the symbol on the results; no exchange rate is applied.
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Enter the distance
Type the one way distance into Distance (one way) and pick km or miles. The "Round trip, double the distance" box is ticked by default, so untick it for a one way drive. The page opens with 240 km as an example.
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Enter your fuel efficiency
Type the figure your car reports into Fuel efficiency and pick its unit: L / 100 km, km / L, MPG (US) or MPG (UK). The example is 7.5 L / 100 km. The tool converts any unit for you.
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Enter the fuel price
Type the pump price into Fuel price and choose per liter, per gallon (US) or per gallon (UK). The example is 1.70 per liter.
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Split the cost
Set People splitting the cost to the number of people paying, from 1 to 99. The default is 1. With 2 or more, a per person figure appears in the result.
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Compare a second car, if you want
Tick Compare with a second vehicle, then fill in "Vehicle B, fuel efficiency" and pick its unit. "Vehicle B, fuel price" is optional; leave it blank to reuse the main price, or enter a diesel or premium price.
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Copy the summary
Results update as you type. Press Copy summary to put a plain text breakdown of the trip, and the comparison if it is on, on your clipboard.
Reading the result
- The large number is the total fuel cost for the whole distance, and the label above it says the distance and whether it is a round trip or one way.
- With the example values, 240 km as a round trip is 480 km. At 7.5 L / 100 km that needs 36 L (about 9.5 gal US), and at 1.70 per liter it costs $61.20.
- Cost per km and Cost per mile divide the total by the distance. The example gives $0.13 per km and $0.21 per mile.
- With the comparison on, a table lists fuel needed, total cost, per person, per km and per mile for Vehicle A and Vehicle B. The line under it says how much Vehicle B saves or costs extra on this trip.
Tips and common mistakes
- Use real world efficiency, not the brochure figure. City driving, a roof box or a full load can use noticeably more fuel than the official rating.
- MPG (US) and MPG (UK) are not the same. A UK gallon is 4.546 L and a US gallon is 3.785 L, so picking the wrong one skews the result by about 20%.
- Remember to untick the round trip box when you only drive one way, or the cost doubles.
- Fuel only: tolls, parking and wear on the car are not included, so add them separately when splitting costs with friends.
Privacy and limits
All the math runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved, and closing the tab clears it. After the page has loaded, the calculator keeps working without a connection.
Everything a trip-cost tool should do.
Frequently asked questions.
Is the Fuel Cost Calculator free?
Is it private? Is my trip data uploaded anywhere?
Which efficiency units does it support?
How does the two-vehicle comparison work?
Does it work offline?
Published · Last updated .
